The youth in rough cloth stood alone in the corner, gnawing dried rations. When Su Yan greeted him, he jumped up, wiped his hands on his tunic, and stammered his name.
"Xue Ying'an. From Daozhou."
The ancient bell shot forward, trembling with excitement. "Your master—Li Xiaoke? Did he wear black robes with a white sash? Did he carry the Octagonal Sword?"
Xue Ying'an blinked. "My master does have a bell. But it is a golden one, the Carefree Bell. It never left his side."
The bell froze. "You misheard. I am the true bell. Those patterns on my inner wall—his technique seals. See for yourself."
Xue Ying'an studied them. "They are indeed my master's work. But master said he forged several imitation bells to suppress demons. You must be one of them."
The bell crumbled.
It retreated into Su Yan's Xiyi Domain, burying itself in the dark sea of the Bubbling Spring secret. "I may be a fake," it whispered. "Leave me alone."
* * *
Su Yan learned more from the nervous youth. Four years ago, a man named Xu Fu had found Li Xiaoke in his hidden world. Afterward, Li Xiaoke left with the Octagonal Sword and the Carefree Bell. He returned wounded, muttering that he had been wrong, that the path was wrong.
Then the world changed. Mountains shifted. The sky cracked. And Li Xiaoke grew cruel.
"Master sent me to find my own immortal fortune," Xue Ying'an said. "He rarely let us leave before."
Su Yan's unease deepened. He demonstrated a sword technique he had learned at the Shuikou Temple—the Boundary-Breaking Sword Qi.
Xue Ying'an's eyes widened. "That's master's Carefree Sword! Where did you learn it?"
"From a white nuo immortal named Chen Mianzhu. Someone used this technique to break open his Inner Realm. Then they killed him with the Octagonal Sword and devoured everything—flesh, soul, everything."
Xue Ying'an's sword emerged, trembling. "You slander my master!"
A chill wind swept through the city. Ghostly warriors in broken armor charged through the streets, clashing with invisible enemies. Their Xiyi Domains hung shattered around them—Spirit Bridges broken, Jade Pools burned, twelve towers reduced to rubble.
These were the greatest cultivators from countless worlds. And they had all died fighting one enemy.
"Everyone out!" Su Yan shouted. "The city is moving!"
The stone walls groaned. The city tilted, lifting into the air, racing toward a distant light. Within that light stood a colossal figure—dragon-headed, human-bodied, wreathed in thunder.
The Heavenly Dao Artifact.
It was leading them back to the Ancient Battlefield.